In response to RFA MD-08-001, the NCMHD Endowment Program for Increasing Research and Institutional Resources Capacity in Section 736 Health Professions Schools, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) seeks endowment funding to build capacity and research infrastructure that will facilitate the University's ongoing health disparity research activities. Through its NCMHD-supported and endowed Medical Sciences Institute (MSI), CDU seeks to creatively design a research environment where a strong, diverse scientific community can unite in addressing solutions to close the gap between the burden of illness and premature mortality experienced more commonly by racial and ethnic minorities and other medically underserved populations, as compared with the nation as a whole. The proposed endowment portfolio will bolster current MSI-endowed funds currently managed through a collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Endowment Foundation, providing an established underpinning of effective and sophisticated portfolio management consistent with the highest level of standards in the nation. The endowment portfolio will be allocated among a number of asset classes that may include domestic equity, domestic fixed income, international equity, international fixed income, private equity, venture capital and cash to ensure the proper level of diversification and the fiscal solvency necessary for creating a self-sustaining research infrastructure at CDU. Following are the Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: Enhance the institutional capacity and infrastructure at CDU, with an emphasis on the College of Science and Health (including the new nursing program) and the College of Medicine (including the planned four-year medical school), to conduct and/or participate as informed team members in translational approaches (team science) on research focused on reducing health disparities;Specific Aim 2: Create a Center for Community Engagement, including support for a new community faculty track, to create a novel learning environment for CDU health professional students who are committed to serving and transforming the health of underserved communities;Specific Aim 3: Implement a scholarly activity support office to promote innovation and increase academic productivity in the areas of (1) intellectual property and technology transfer and (2) grants, invited presentations, and peer-reviewed publications that have high potential to impact the health disparities gap;and Specific Aim 4: Effectively manage the endowment portfolio at a level consistent with the highest fiduciary standards in the nation. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In response to RFA MD-08-001, the NCMHD Endowment Program for Increasing Research and Institutional Resources Capacity in Section 736 Health Professions Schools, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) seeks endowment funding to build capacity and research infrastructure that will facilitate the University's ongoing health disparity research activities. Through its NCMHD-supported and endowed Medical Sciences Institute (MSI), CDU seeks to creatively design a research environment where a strong, diverse scientific community can unite in addressing solutions to close the gap between the burden of illness and premature mortality experienced more commonly by racial and ethnic minorities and other medically underserved populations, as compared with the nation as a whole.